Good Sunday Everyone.Hope the weekend has been nice for everyone.I can’t believe how fast Christmas is coming this year!This will be the weirdest Christmas by far for us.We head out to CA next week to unpack, then come back 5 or 6 days later to celebrate Christmas with our family then go back to our new home in CA after the new year.Are we crazy or what?

Aside from our craziness and my lack of cooking these days, I managed to make another nice and easy dinner that can be prepared in under 30 minutes.Not too many ingredients, but still has lots of veggis that hopefully the kids won’t mind.Try my tactic of chopping up the kid’s pasta with scissors and I bet they’ll eat it right up.If you haven’t tried ground chicken sausage in a while, give it a try, it has great flavor and cooks up fast.I found this particular sausage at Sprouts here in AZ for really cheap.Check it out next time you are at the grocery store, it makes for a great pasta!

Chicken Sausage Florentine Rigatoni

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 Cups fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

1 lb ground chicken sausage

½ teaspoon salt

26 oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes

15 oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes

8 leaves fresh basil, chopped

1 lb dry rigatoni noodles

2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat.Saute onion for 5 minutes or until softened.Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.Stir in spinach and cook until wilted down.Add chicken sausage and salt; cook until cooked through.

2.Place both cans of tomatoes into a food processor and process until nearly smooth.Add to skillet along with fresh basil.Reduce heat to low and simmer.

3.Cook rigatoni according to packaging directions.Drain and transfer to sauce.Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish and sprinkle with shredded cheese.Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

8 servings

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Remember THIS Beauty?It happens to be one of my all time favorite recipes to make and to eat.Here is another version that we enjoy just as much.These would be fabulous on any Christmas plate.Enjoy!!

White Chocolate Butterfinger Blondies

¼ Cup butter

¾ Cup white chocolate chips

½ Cup sugar

¼ Cup brown sugar

1 Cup flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ Cup white chocolate chips

6 Fun Size Butterfingers, crushed up (I pounded them with a rolling pin)

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons sour cream

2 Fun Size Butterfingers, crushed up

2 Tablespoons sanding sugar

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Melt butter in microwave safe bowl.Stir in ¾ Cup white chips until melted and smooth.In a large bowl add the sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, ½ Cup white chips and crushed Butterfingers.In a small bowl whisk the eggs and sour cream.Pour into the dry ingredient bowl along with the melted white chip mixture.Mix until just combined.

2.Pour into an 8×8 inch baking dish lined with foil that’s been sprayed with cooking spray.Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes clean from center. The last 15 minutes, mix the chopped Butterfingers and sanding sugar in a small bowl until combined then sprinkle over top of blondies. Finish baking then let cool completely before digging in!

9 blondies

Have a Great Week! Best of luck with all of your Christmas Shopping! See you soon!

This recipe was published @ http://picky-palate.com/dinner-on-fly-and-blonde-moment/